The only yearling consigned by the late David Mullins' Doninga sold for $350,000 during the early portion of the third session of the 2008 Keeneland September yearling sale Sept. 10 at the Central Kentucky auction house.

A winner of five of seven starts this year, Midnight Cry Stable's homebred Stormin Baghdad headlines a field of 13 for the Dec. 22 Bonapaw Stakes, the last of four $100,000 stakes on the inaugural "Santa Sprint Saturday" card at Fair Grounds.

The undefeated Estate Collection, making his stakes debut, set a lively pace for jockey Patrick Valenzuela in the Kentucky Cup Sprint (gr. III) for 3-year-olds at Turfway Park Saturday but refused to give in late, winning by three-quarters of a length over 23-1 Humor At Last.

Trainer Todd Pletcher has a host of Saratoga stakes wins to his credit and hopes to add one more to the list when he saddles Vicarage in Sunday's $150,000 Amsterdam Stakes (gr. II), going six furlongs.

Going Wild, who finished 18th of 20 in the Kentucky Derby (gr. I), had his final Preakness Stakes (gr. I) tune-up at Churchill Downs Monday morning, drilling five furlongs in 1:01.40 for trainer D. Wayne Lukas. The work ranked 11th of 20 times at the distance.

The field for the May 21 Preakness Stakes (gr. I) continues to grow, as one horse was reported to be on his way to Baltimore, a second became a surprise supplement to the race, and trainer Nick Zito gave some indication as to which of his horses may still be in play.

An ugly, rainy morning, and no Kentucky Derby (gr. I) works made for a funky Friday. The Derby lost one prospective starter when it was announced General John B will not run due to a tendon injury to his left front leg. On the jockey front was the announcement that Pat Valenzuela will ride Coolmore Lexington (gr. II) winner Coin Silver.

A field of eight 3-year-olds will go to the post Saturday in the Coolmore Lexington Stakes (gr. II), the last chance to pick up significant graded earnings before the May 7 Kentucky Derby (gr. I). The standout in the field, 6-5 morning-line favorite Rockport Harbor, doesn't need the earnings, but definitely needs the race to make it to Churchill Downs for the first Saturday in May.

Robert and Beverly Lewis' Going Wild, runner-up in the Santa Catalina (gr. II) and winner of the Sham Stakes at Santa Anita, tuned up for a run in Saturday's $325,000 Coolmore Lexington Stakes (gr. II) at Keeneland with a five furlong work on Monday at Churchill Downs.

It's now or never for the eight starters entered in Saturday's $750,000 Wood Memorial (gr. I). If any hope to make it to the May 7 Kentucky Derby (gr. I), they must deliver the goods in the Wood, especially with only two of the participants – Bellamy Road and Survivalist – on the top 20 list of graded earnings.

Consolidator, Going Wild and Bellamy Road – all considered to be major contenders for the $2 million Kentucky Derby (gr. I) – turned in sharp workouts on Sunday at Churchill Downs in preparation for their final preps for the 131st renewal of the "Run for the Roses" on May 7.

With the next Kentucky Derby Trail column not until Wednesday, March 30, when the Lane's End Stakes (gr. II) and UAE Derby (UAE-I) will be discussed belatedly, this seems like a good time to offer some lingering thoughts, facts, and observations left over from last weekend.

The Kentucky Derby (gr. I) picture finally cleared up a bit last Saturday as Declan's Moon and Afleet Alex returned in grand style and Nick Zito put the finishing touches on his powerful four-horse Derby package, all of whom are coming off impressive victories. But the weekend's events still left us with several questions.

The second of three pools in the 2005 Kentucky Derby Future Wager will open four days of betting with co-favorites in unbeaten juvenile champion Declan's Moon and the mutuel field, the wagering interest that includes all 3-year-olds other than the 23 individual horses in the March 10-13 pool.

Undefeated Declan's Moon, the early favorite for this year's Kentucky Derby (gr. I), pulled away from challengers Going Wild and Spanish Chestnut in the final furlong to register an impressive victory in the $200,000 Santa Catalina (gr. II) Saturday at Santa Anita.

Declan's Moon, who was forced to miss a mile work last week due to the bad weather, still is nearly 100% fit for his scheduled 3-year-old debut in Saturday's Santa Catalina Stakes (gr. II) at Santa Anita, trainer Ron Ellis said Tuesday.

With each big weekend of stakes races, the 3-year-old picture is supposed to get a little clearer. But that doesn't seem to be the case any longer. In fact, over the past several years, the opposite has been true. So it was this past weekend, when we had to turn to non-stakes events to find potential Kentucky Derby (gr. I) contenders.

A balance between speed and stamina is the key to the pedigree of Going Wild, winner of the Jan 17 San Miguel Stakes. With early fractions of :21.61 and :44.32 for the San Miguel, he has already demonstrated speed, and his pedigree suggests the endurance to carry that speed over a distance.

Take a speedy grade I winner from a hot sire line who could carry his speed up to 1 3/16th miles. Cross him with a classically-oriented family whose credentials include two Kentucky Derby/Preakness (gr. I) winners, an Epsom Derby (Eng-I) winner, and a Prix du Jockey-Club (Fr-I) winner. What do you get?

"Too fast to last." That is an old slogan that racing fans hope does not ring true in 2005. If it doesn't, then we're in for a memorable winter and spring on the road to the May 7 Kentucky Derby (gr. I), as a legion of brilliant young horses across the country prepare to embark on the journey of a lifetime.

Maiden winner Going Wild, a $600,000 Kentucky-bred son of Golden Missile, goes for Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas in the $100,000 San Miguel Stakes for 3-year-olds at six furlongs at Santa Anita Park on Monday.